The teddy bear is over 100 years old. Did you know that President, Theodore Roosevelt, was responsible for naming the stuffed bear, Teddy?

Teddy bears have been around so long we hardly think of when they first began. We only know how much we love them and want to have them around. To estimate the number of teddy bears given as gifts over the years would be impossible.

We know how popular a teddy bear is. How much more in demand would a character teddy bear be? History has shown them to be very popular and collectable.

Winnie The Pooh, that chubby little cubby all stuffed with fluff, is possibly, one of the most famous teddy bears. Pooh got his start in the books of A.A. Milne; there was no stopping him after that. In the 1980’s Sears came out with a complete line of clothes and toys, including various sizes and styles of teddy bears. Pooh bears were seen in the arms of children everywhere. Sears still features a line of clothing for children called the Pooh collection. Pooh bedding for children is available in many stores. Pooh and his friends can be seen on PBS channels.

You can find Paddington bear quite often sitting in repose, waiting for his next human feat to perform. Some of these bears are in museums but you may find them still on the market. Paddington was created by Michael Bond in 1958. His books about Paddington bear are still very popular today. Paddington can also be found starring in his own series on BBC television.

Rupert, who got his start as a comic strip in a London newspaper, is another teddy bear who seems to have a lot of adventures. He has also been seen in books and as a soft cuddly teddy bear.

Yogi Bear is another teddy bear of character, He runs around Jellystone National Park with one thing in mind, food. Not bear food, mind you, but the food inside the pic-in-ic baskets of the tourists visiting the park. The team of Hanna, Barbera, created Yogi and his friends as an animated cartoon. Yogi, Boo-Boo, Mr. Ranger, and Cindy, can still be seen on the cable channel, Boomerang. You can still find vintage yogi teddy bears if you look hard.

Baloo, first introduced in Rudyard Kipling’s, The Jungle Book, has been a teddy bear, and was the star of his own animated show, Tail Spin. This cartoon can still be seen on some cable cartoon stations.

The Care Bears are a group of teddy bears who take pride in helping others by showing them the best ways to behave and learn they are people too. They each have their own special skills and the official Care Bear site is: http://www.care-bears.com/CareBears/html/about/index.html. You can go there to find out more about the Care Bears. You can find Care Bear teddy bears there too. This is a great site for children, with games, stories, and songs.

There are more teddy bears of character out there, but time and space is limited for this article. You can go exploring and find them for yourself.